Microsoft Loses Appeal To Shut Down LindowsOS

alphabet26 writes "LindowsOS announced yesterday that a Seattle Judge has denied Microsoft's appeal to shut them down, citing that Microsoft's own use of evidence helped determined "Windows" is a generic word. Lindows.com has posted the judge's seven page ruling on their website." Microsoft is trying get an injunction to prevent Lindows from using the name while the trial proceeds, and the judge has denied them, twice. Lindows could still lose the case in the end, though.

Comments

"Shut Down LindowsOS"

[Erasmus Darwin]

Microsoft isn't trying to shutdown the LindowsOS, as the article headline erroneously states. They're merely trying to stop them from using the Lindows name. The error seems to be a mistranscription of the Lindows press release, which refers to Microsoft attempting to "shut down Lindows.com" (presumably due to the name rather than the content). Even if Microsoft were to have won, there'd be nothing preventing the Lindows people from changing the name to JdsfhkjashdfkjOS.

Why?

[night_flyer]

The whole "Windows", "Word", "Office" thing has always pissed me off.

http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

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Lindows is bad

[lkaos]

I'm sorry, but I cannot help it.

For one, Lindows goes to great length to distant itself from Linux. In fact, most non-open source people do not even realize there is _any_ relationship between Lindows and Linux.

Lindows *is* Linux. All it is a regular distro of Linux that has renamed everything and drops into single user mode. Others have mentioned how they renamed KWord and a lot of the other KDE stuff.

Then they don't release their source code (clearly violating the GPL). Free Software is all about preserving credit for the original authors and Lindows seems almost to spit in the face of all the people who have worked on Linux.

I don't care if Linux overtakes Windows. I don't care about Windows and the people who use it. I do care about people abusing the hard work that has gone into developing Linux though.

I personally am disappointed that Lindows won here only because I would have liked to see them fade away. They are not good for the community and I can just imagine the harmful effect they will have when they eventually go belly up.

Re:Lindows is bad

[lkaos]

From their own site:

Lindows.com is a consumer company that brings choice to computer users. Lindows.com, Inc. uses the latest technology to create affordable, intuitive, user-friendly products. Lindows.com, Inc. was started by Michael Robertson, founder and former CEO of MP3.com. At the core of Lindows.com is a new operating system called LindowsOS(TM), a modern, affordable, easy-to-use operating system with the ability to run both Windows® and Linux® software.

WTF! The core of Lindows is LindowsOS??? No it's not! The core is the Linux kernel. Wine is not an operating system, it is an emulator. It's not like they wrote even a significant portion of any of their components (yeah, a little bit on Wine, but not much in comparision to the entire project).

I'm sorry, I just don't see why more people don't despise Lindows... Is this not a big FU to the Free Software community?

Re:Lindows is bad

[MsGeek]

This is why I am rooting for Lycoris as the "Linux with Training Wheels" for recovering Windows users. Lycoris releases source. Lycoris is based on a standard distribution (Caldera OpenLinux) and openly acknowledges that it is a species of Linux.

I am only waiting for Lycoris to tweak KDE 3 the way they did KDE 2.2.2.

It actually is a Good Thing (tm) that the Lycoris Group changed their name from Redmond Linux. The whole Lindows thing is a distraction from the goal of creating a simplified Linux for the desktop.

http://www.net2.com/lindows/source

[i_am_nitrogen]

Dude, it's all there for crying out loud! http://www.net2.com/lindows/source